City annexes 80 acres as Salina Airport industrial park continues to grow

More than 80 acres of land will be added to the city as the Salina Regional Airport looks to expand its industrial district.

The land, which is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Water Well and Centennial Roads, was previously part of unincorporated Saline County and will become part of the city after approval by the Salina City Commission on Monday.

"That property was first acquired by the Salina Airport Authority in 1986, but has sat dormant in that location ... and has remained zoned agricultural," said Dean Andrew, zoning administrator for the city.

What does the Salina Airport plan to do with this property?

Pieter Miller, executive director of the Salina Airport Authority, said he was notified of a potential new tenant for part of the land owned by the airport in January, which started this process to bring it into the city.

"We're working through some negotiations with purchase agreement for the northwest 20 acres of that ... development," Miller said.

In addition to a potential tenant, Miller said the industrial park of the airport is nearly full, necessitating the need for more land as companies continue to look to the park as a place to bring their business.

"There is no developable space out at the airport, so it makes sense that we're moving forward with (this project)," Miller said.

He said the development of the project will be in two phases, with the expansion of Scanlan Avenue to the south and Swanson Avenue to the west, as well as putting utilities into the entire development.

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What other steps are being taken to annex this land into Salina?

In addition to approving the annexation of the 80.42 acres into Salina, the commission also approved the rezoning of the land from agricultural to industrial, lining up with the intended use of the property by the airport.

Finally, the airport authority is looking at using incentives to help develop this land, particularly special assessments, so the commission also directed staff to begin preparing engineering feasibility reports on the project and approved a proposed development agreement for sidewalk and street improvements related to the subdivision.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: City annexes 80 acres as Salina Airport industrial park continues to grow